A savagely satirical take on the consequences of repressive doctrine and the power of collective action.
A dissident is condemned to dangerous work on a distant world containing mysterious ruins from a vanished alien society.
Professor Arton Daghdev’s xenobiology research violates the orthodox principles of the governing Mandate, which dictates that science must support the idea that humans are the pinnacle of all evolution, everywhere. He’s also been secretly dabbling in more direct revolution—or at least, talking about it—but the authorities don’t know that. For his academic trespasses, he’s shipped off to serve as convict labor on the planet Kiln, where ancient ruins suggest there was once an intelligent race. His job is to find the remains of this race and furnish evidence of just how much like humanity it was. Instead, he discovers a world full of metaspecies—communities of symbiotes who have united into single organisms—and a sullen population of convicts who cannot trust each other enough to pull off a successful uprising against the sadistic commandant and brutal guards. The symbiotes of Kiln seem anxious to add humans to their collection; unfortunately, such attempts usually lead to madness and/or death for the human. But a catastrophic encounter with one such group of life-forms provides Arton and his fellows with both insight into the race of the builders and a possible way of winning liberation. The biological puzzle of life on Kiln depicted here is fascinating, reminiscent of biologist/SF author Joan Slonczewski’s The Children Star (1998). The biological aspect of the story is a tool to support Tchaikovsky’s primary message, which is a vivid illustration of how suspicion can undermine both an authoritarian regime and any potential resistance to that regime. In this novel, a lack of honesty and poor communication can literally kill. But at the same time, all talk and no action is no path to success, either.
A savagely satirical take on the consequences of repressive doctrine and the power of collective action.Pub Date: tomorrow
ISBN: 9780316578974
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Haig’s positive message will keep his fans happy.
A British widow travels to Ibiza and learns that it’s never too late to have a happy life.
In a world that seems to be getting more unstable by the moment, Haig’s novels are a steady ship in rough seas, offering a much-needed positive message. In works like the bestselling The Midnight Library (2020), he reminds us that finding out what you truly love and where you belong in the universe are the foundations of building a better existence. His latest book continues this upbeat messaging, albeit in a somewhat repetitive and facile way. Retired British schoolteacher Grace Winters discovers that an old acquaintance has died and left her a ramshackle home in Ibiza. A widow who lost her only child years earlier, Grace is at first reluctant to visit the house, because, at 72, she more or less believes her chance for happiness is over—but when she rouses herself to travel to the island, she discovers the opposite is true. A mystery surrounds her friend’s death involving a roguish islander, his activist daughter, an internationally famous DJ, and a strange glow in the sea that acts as a powerful life force and upends Grace’s ideas of how the cosmos works. Framed as a response to a former student’s email, the narrative follows Grace’s journey from skeptic (she was a math teacher, after all) to believer in the possibility of magic as she learns to move on from the past. Her transformation is the book’s main conflict, aside from a protest against an evil developer intent on destroying Ibiza’s natural beauty. The outcome is never in doubt, and though the story often feels stretched to the limit—this novel could have easily been a novella—the author’s insistence on the power of connection to change lives comes through loud and clear.
Haig’s positive message will keep his fans happy.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593489277
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
A vibrant tale of a remarkable woman.
Who was Shakespeare?
Move over, Earl of Oxford and Francis Bacon: There’s another contender for the true author of plays attributed to the bard of Stratford—Emilia Bassano, a clever, outspoken, educated woman who takes center stage in Picoult’s spirited novel. Of Italian heritage, from a family of court musicians, Emilia was a hidden Jew and the courtesan of a much older nobleman who vetted plays to be performed for Queen Elizabeth. She was well traveled—unlike Shakespeare, she visited Italy and Denmark, where, Picoult imagines, she may have met Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—and was familiar with court intrigue and English law. “Every gap in Shakespeare’s life or knowledge that has had to be explained away by scholars, she somehow fills,” Picoult writes. Encouraged by her lover, Emilia wrote plays and poetry, but 16th-century England was not ready for a female writer. Picoult interweaves Emilia’s story with that of her descendant Melina Green, an aspiring playwright, who encounters the same sexist barriers to making herself heard that Emilia faced. In alternating chapters, Picoult follows Melina’s frustrated efforts to get a play produced—a play about Emilia, who Melina is certain sold her work to Shakespeare. Melina’s play, By Any Other Name, “wasn’t meant to be a fiction; it was meant to be the resurrection of an erasure.” Picoult creates a richly detailed portrait of daily life in Elizabethan England, from sumptuous castles to seedy hovels. Melina’s story is less vivid: Where Emilia found support from the witty Christopher Marlowe, Melina has a fashion-loving gay roommate; where Emilia faces the ravages of repeated outbreaks of plague, for Melina, Covid-19 occurs largely offstage; where Emilia has a passionate affair with the adoring Earl of Southampton, Melina’s lover is an awkward New York Times theater critic. It’s Emilia’s story, and Picoult lovingly brings her to life.
A vibrant tale of a remarkable woman.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780593497210
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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